BHP has reached a settlement agreement to resolve the Australian Samarco shareholder class action, which is pending approval by the Federal Court of Australia.

The lawsuit was initiated on behalf of investors who purchased BHP shares before the 2015 Fundão tailings dam collapse.

The class action was filed in the Federal Court of Australia in 2018, representing individuals who acquired shares in BHP Group Limited or BHP Group (UK) between 8 August 2012 and 9 November 2015.

Samarco Mineração, the joint venture responsible for the Fundão dam, is equally owned by BHP Billiton Brasil (a subsidiary of BHP Group Limited) and Vale.

Under the settlement terms, BHP has agreed to pay the claimants A$110m ($72.3m), which includes interests and costs, while not admitting any wrongdoing.

The company expects to reclaim the bulk of this amount from its insurance providers.

This settlement comes after a Brazilian federal court absolved Vale, BHP Group and Samarco of criminal liability in November last year for the Fundão tailings dam collapse.

The incident resulted in 19 deaths, left hundreds without homes, inflicted severe environmental harm and heavily polluted the Doce River.

Federal court judge Patricia de Carvalho determined that the evidence was insufficient to assign direct criminal responsibility to the companies or the 21 individuals, including former executives, who were also exonerated.

Furthermore, BHP Group and Vale have reportedly suggested a settlement of $1.4bn (£1.03bn) to resolve a UK class action lawsuit related to the collapse of the dam.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the London case against BHP have calculated that the possible damages could reach as high as £36bn.